![[F-ZERO CLIMAX.png]] # Overview *F-ZERO CLIMAX* is the final entry in the cult-classic *F-ZERO* franchise. Made by *Nintendo*, this game was released for the *Game Boy Advance* in 2004 for a Japanese-only audience. The game has since been unofficially translated to English. # Modding > [!TIP] [F-Zero: Climax (English Translation)](https://www.romhacking.net/translations/6339/) > F-Zero Climax, released in 2004 on the GBA, is a Japanese exclusive and was the last F-Zero game until 2023’s F-Zero 99. The game features improved graphics over previous GBA entries, introduces new vehicles and characters, includes a full storyline, and more. > > The most unique feature F-Zero Climax boasts is a robust track editor. You can create tracks from various pieces, share them via password or link cable, and play them both solo and in multiplayer. > > F-Zero Climax contains a large amount of unlockables and secrets, including both gameplay modes and story content. There are Grand Prix, Time Trial, Zero Test, Survival Mode and more, all available to test the player’s piloting skill. Story content includes full synopses of story chapters, character profiles, and vehicle profiles. > > F-Zero Climax’s story follows Rick Wheeler and the Galaxy Mobile Platoon’s racing escapades. Rick Wheeler is awoken from “cold sleep”, only to find his arch-nemesis Zoda still alive and well 100 years later. Will the Galaxy Mobile Platoon take down Zoda and his Dark Million organization? > [!TIP] [F-Zero: GP Climax](https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/8260/) > F-Zero Climax has the largest list of playable courses of any F-Zero Game. Grand Prix mode alone has 53 courses, split across the Novice/Standard, Expert, and Master difficulties. Just like its predecessor, GP Legend, almost all of the courses in the game have harder variants when you get to the Expert and Master difficulties. Some even have a 3rd level of difficulty. Unlike GP Legend though, it’s not always clear which courses are harder variants of which. > > There are two things that obscure the courses’ relations. First, many of the variants don’t share a name with the track they are based on. For example, based on name alone, there’s no way to know that “Big Blue: Arch Hill” is a harder variant of “Big Blue: Slalom”, but has no relation to “Big Blue: Slip Down”. Second, the courses do not always appear in the same cups, or even the same order within a cup. “Big Blue: Slalom” is the 1st race of the Silver Standard Cup, but “Big Blue: Arch Hill” is the 3rd race of the Bronze Expert Cup. Overall, this makes Climax feel like a less-cohesive game than GP Legend, and makes finding a specific track in Time Attack a chore. > > This patch, GP Climax, presents its Grand Prix courses in the same way as GP Legend, with harder versions of courses appearing in the same cup, and for the most part, the same order. 10 of the 53 courses have been swapped between Cups, and 5 of the 9 Cups have had their tracks re-ordered. (See the readme for details.) This gives each Cup its own self-contained identity. > > GP Climax is compatible with the Japanese original rom, as well as the English and Spanish translations done by the “F-Zero Climax: Translation Project Team”. It contains the smaller patches “Sandstorm” and “Rat Race Added to Survival Mode”. Since this patch simply re-orders content from the original game, without changing any of the content, it is appropriate to use during a first playthrough. > [!TIP] [Port Town Theme (Platinum Cup) Bass Fix](https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/7230/) > F-Zero Climax introduced its own Port Town theme, but it also brought back the one from GP Legend for use in the Platinum Cup, and its out-of-tune bass issue was retained. > > This mod fixes it, though the new Port Town theme probably makes it less relevant.